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Aust police to probe MH17 disaster

Paul Osborne, AAP Senior Political Writer

More than 200 Australian police and defence personnel are gearing up to join a multi-nation force to secure the MH17 crash site in war-torn eastern Ukraine.

The deployment comes as three Australian foreign affairs department and police officers visited the area for the first time to gain insight into the security needs and map the key sites for investigators.

And US President Barack Obama spoke with Prime Minister Tony Abbott on Friday morning, offering America's support for a "full, unimpeded and transparent" investigation.

Australia is close to signing a deal with the Ukraine which would provide legal protection for 190 AFP officers, guarded by a small ADF contingent.

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They will be sent in to secure the crash site and help investigate the deaths of 298 MH17 passengers, including up to 39 Australians.

The contingent will be led by Dutch police and include police from other countries including Malaysia and Germany.

More than 200 body bags have now been transported from Kharkiv to the Netherlands, where a large forensic team is working to identify victims.

However, Mr Abbott said it was clear following the visit to the site by the Australian officials that there were more bodily remains that had not been recovered and a much wider spread of wreckage than initially thought.

"Every day's delay makes the condition of the remains more parlous," he said.

The Netherlands is set to contribute 40 unarmed police.

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said he was looking at further means of stabilising the area, which will require some form of international mandate.

This could mean another UN Security Council resolution, on top of that secured by Australia this week.

UN expert Professor Hilary Charlesworth, from the Australian National University, told AAP there would be advantages in getting a second resolution.

"The first one was in relatively general terms. There is room for something more specific."

Foreign Minister Julie Bishop, who is negotiating the security deal with the Ukraine, stopped at a makeshift memorial outside the Dutch embassy in Kiev where piles of toys, teddy bears, notes and flowers have been gathered.

"Seeing these flowers and tributes and toys reminds us that there were 80 children on board that flight," she said.

"It firms my resolve to get a resolution and closure for all the families involved in this atrocity."

Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 was shot down by pro-Russian separatists with 298 people on board a week ago over rebel-held territory in eastern Ukraine.

Mr Abbott would not specify how many Australian troops would be sent to the Ukraine, but indicated there was currently a "modest" term comprising a colonel, several planners and protection for special envoy Angus Houston.

Declining to go into detail about his phone call with Mr Obama, Mr Abbott insisted it was "not a US operation".

"He indicated his full support for what Australia and other countries have in mind," the prime minister said.

Hundreds of West Australians on Friday attended a memorial service in Perth for the victims of the disaster.